Hoofs and Goofs
Hoofs and Goofs is the 175th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959. Plot Joe cannot stop thinking of his late sister, Bertie. Moe and Larry humour him by making him think that Bertie will meet them the following day downtown, in some form. When the boys trek downtown, they meet up with a horse that turns out to be Bertie reincarnated, much to Moe and Larry's surprise. The boys are ecstatic, and try to persuade their horsie sister to return home with them. At first, she resists, but eventually gives in. No sooner do the boys get Bertie home that they discover she is pregnant. Joe goes berserk and demands Moe and Larry prepare for the arrival of the newborn. In the interim, Bertie's heavy hoofs can be clearly heard by the landlord Mr. Dinklespiel (Benny Rubin) and his daughter (Harriette Tarler) living downstairs. Dinklespiel marches upstairs and demands that the Stooges come clean, but Moe tries to convince him that the sounds are nothing more than the trio. Once Dinklespiel leaves, Bertie gives birth to a baby colt. Joe is so taken by the moment, he happily declares "I'm an uncle, I'm an uncle!" Within seconds, Joe is awoken by Moe and Larry, who hear his cries of being an uncle. It turns out that the whole thing was a dream, and sister Bertie (Moe in drag) is alive and well and living with the Stooges. When Joe tells Bertie he had a dream that she was a horse, she takes offense, and promptly places a casserole on Joe's bald dome. Notes *''Hoofs and Goofs'' was the first Three Stooges short with Joe Besser as the third Stooge. According to Besser's autobiography Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge, Besser spoke to Moe shortly before filming to convey his condolences over the death of Shemp Howard the year before. Joe and Shemp had been good friends. *This short also features a new opening sequence of Joe, Larry and Moe vocalizing "Hello" towards the camera and then they wave. *In the context of the film, Joe and Moe are said to be brothers and Bertie is their little sister who has been dead for a year. This is a (possibly unintentional) bit of morbidity given than the short was the first one released and made following the death of Shemp. *Tony the Wonder Horse portrays Bertie in this film. Tony would go on to appear in other films and television shows including the Stooges' sequel to this film, Horsing Around, and the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode, "Lucy Wins a Race Horse", with guest stars Harry James and Betty Grable. *Stooge supporting actress Harriette Tarler pulls double duty as both the voice of Bertie, and as Mr. Dinklespiel's daughter. *''Hoofs and Goofs'' was followed by a sequel a few months later: Horsing Around. *Originally, the end of the film was supposed to have the Stooges' sister, Bertie, hit Joe with a rolling pin. However, due to his not wanting to be hit in the head with a solid prop, it was changed to a casserole. *In the end of the short when Moe is playing Bertie, you can clearly see the face of Moe's double. The double is Joe Palma, who had filled in for Shemp in the previous four Stooges shorts. References *Besser, Joe; Lenburg, Jeff; Lenburg, Greg; (1987). Once a Stooge, Always a Stooge, Roundtable Pub. ISBN 0-9156-7734-2 *Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). The Three Stooges Scrapbook, p. 264, Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0946-5 Category:Three Stooges films